First time investor

[John Helms]

I am close to purchasing my first sfh investment property.  I have purchased many homes in the past as personal residences and always with the help of an agent.  Is it customary to offer something less than asking price?

[Lindsay Davis]

@John Helms,

Exciting stuff—congrats on getting started, and great to see that you’re in Birmingham!

As for your question, you can definitely make a reasonable offer below asking price—with "reasonable" being around 5% to 10% off asking. But like @Ryan Harrell and @Min Zhang said, be prepared for a counteroffer or an outright rejection.

As a rule of thumb, if I were you, I’d ask myself: if I had to pay full asking price for the property, would I still want to do the deal?